Cinque Ports 21 - 17 East Grinstead III (HT 14-12)
After an early run of close league defeats playing on Cinque Ports' minds there is no doubt CPR had some empathy for their visitors at the final whistle. This was outweighed though by the joy of securing their first league win against a useful East Grinstead outfit. The initial exchanges were typical of the entire game. East Grinstead chose to playing a close game, driving up channels near the rucks and inching up the field. CPR were ever dangerous with the ball in hand, but starved of possession that would give them the points. The visitors used their experienced pack to suck in defenders, giving them a sizable overlap which led to the inevitable score. The kick was missed, the significance of which was not clear the time. In previous weeks this might have cowed Cinque Ports but the confidence provided by the heavy defeat of Burgess Hill was evident as they efforts were redoubled and possession increased. From a line out Dale Whittington won clean ball, throwing directly from the top to Simon Baillie. A good pass to Paul Smart gave him an inch of space; a superb double dummy scissors gave him acres of space. Smart’s long pass to Ross Kearney gave the full back the opportunity to fix his opposite number and weave in under the posts. Smart converted. Smart's kicking was a vital element, as was his snaffling of opposition ball on the floor. The set piece was also a significant area of play for CPR throughout, EG as always brought a strong pack. CPR did not dominate their opposite numbers, but did demonstrate parity. An amazing feat considering the front row contained Dean Dedman making his debut at prop ensuring Cinque Ports were not penalised for uncontested scrums. Dedman's front row partner Mark Wright also gave cheer to his teammates by hooking a number of scrum balls against the head. With this kind of possession provided by the pack the backs were a potent force. Five phases of play took them into East Grinstead territory and it appeared that Rob Fink had scored in the corner before the ref called the grounding short. They were not to be denied though and a clearing kick found it's way to Kearney. The dangerous full back broke through the line before launching a testing kick of his own. The bounce favoured the adventurous Cinque Ports backs and fell into the arms of Murray Whittington who waltzed into score under the posts. Smart again converted. With a nine point lead Cinque Ports seemed quite secure, until East Grinstead once again ground their way up the field. Driving the ball up tight channels eventually their size and experience told and the gap was quickly cut to two points with a successful kick.
The second half saw a raft of changes for CPR, and the opening moments did appear a little disjointed as the new faces settled in. The visitors were again in control of possession, and good tackles by Ben Hanny and Adam Bigg were essential in maintaining the lead. Cinque Ports continued to look dangerous with the ball in hand though and a good break saw Baillie unfortunate not to hold onto the ball as he danced into space. With East Grinstead controlling the set piece more it was broken field play that Cinque Ports looked for. They were given it when a kick from the opposition 22 fell into Kearney's arms again. Playing with confidence the Irish flyer headed towards the line before being scragged, but his offload found Dale Whittington. Matching his brother he bounced over the line to score with tacklers hanging off him. Smart made the difficult conversion from the touch line. With the game again seemingly secure CPR found themselves again defending a narrowed gap when East Grinstead quickly got themselves up the field before their forwards crashed over. Another missed conversion ensured a gap remained. This final push seemed to tire East Grinstead and the game ended in EG's half as Mike Dunne, Chris Eastwood and Murray Whittington all looked to stretch a tired defence. The sense of relief at the final whistle as palpable as a fourth tight league affair ended this time with a Cinque Ports victory.
Team Manager Gavin Thomas was quick to praise Man of the Match Dean Dedman "Dean by his standards had a quiet game but his bravery in propping for the first time won us the game. That said it was a great team effort too, forwards winning ball and the backs dangerous going forward". Thomas also saw greater potential in the side " That was a very satisfying win but the views of the lads in the changing room is that we were only operating at 90% there, we're sure we have more to offer". Dedman was rightly feted for his role in the win, but Wright, Kearney and Smart also deserved some credit too.
Team: Dedman, Wright, Giles, Thomas (Bigg), Barningham, D Whittington (Pantry-Meyer), Malthouse, Hanny, Baillie (Chambers), Smart, M Whittington, Perry (Dunne), Price (Waughman), Fink (Eastwood), Kearney. Sub Not Used Mahoney
